iPadOS 26 is an Absolute Mess

[Ludatyk]

It isn’t another option. It’s a window management feature that isn’t working correctly and you’re presenting a workaround. It would only be another option if the primary trackpad-and-keyboard based option also worked. For it to be ‘another’ option, the first option would have to work. But it doesn’t. So it’s a workaround.

You can use the mouse (or trackpad) with it too... you don't have to rely on using touch to swipe down.

Yes, I mean SlideOver. I’m sorry you didn’t like it - but it objectively has more functionality than the current multitasking setup, so I don’t see how you can claim it’s limited.

It's not that I didn't like it... I just prefer a more freedom of movement environment, SlideOver was limited to one size and two areas of the screen.

It’s absolutely frustrating that Apple is making the iPad experience worse for 90% of users to cave to the demands of some tech influencers who don’t even use the iPad as their primary device and who never will.

Where is this 90% of users coming from? You have a source on this?

 

[tomtad]

There are quite a few problems right now with the windowing system, the two most annoying to me are these. Already sent feedback to Apple but I doubt they even read any since they have had bugs that persisted for years that people have reported.

1) Making two apps side-by side now requires more actions than previously. Instead of just pulling the app you wanted on the side you have to first pull the app then resize (or flick) the app you had open to make that one share half the screen. Adding actions to multitasking isn’t great, adding dead space between the apps also wastes screen real estate.

2) Flicking windows to make them full screen or half screen works very well with fingers but very poorly with the touchpad on my magic keyboard. The close to 100% success rate I have with fingers is below 50% with touchpad.

EDIT: Apparently 2) above can be solved by not trying to flick the window with the cursor but barely moving it on the intended direction.

I believe you have hold down on the window controls and that will give you some autolayouts

 

[achappy]

I don’t understand how you can honestly claim that the previous multitasking wasn’t better in tablet (touch) mode.

How it used to work:

- Fullscreen app is open.
- To add second app, drag it from dock - it automatically makes a Split View.

Done!

Is the current version:

- Open one app - it’s going to be windowed.
- Open another app, it’s going to be windowed, too.
- Spend time resizing the first app to be 3/4 of the screen. You might have problems being unable to grab the handle easily near the bottom of the screen because the dock will keep popping up in the way.
- Repeat the same process for the second app.
(There might be a third or fourth app in the background making it visually confusing and or more difficult to click and drag the correct window).

If you give an example, make the scenarios the same.

In iPadOS26:

• Fullscreen app is open
• From dock and new app is full screen (many options)
  • Swipe from the top to the side you want the new app. Then from the dock open new app and swipe to opposite side for split screen
  • Use traffic lights to Move to one side.
  • Use dock and traffic lights to move to the other.
• From dock and app is old split size
  • Since old split size remembers location, it's already in position.
  • Select other app and either swipe or use traffic lights.

Simple and straight forward. Granted, it takes an extra step or two compared to iPadOS18 to get it initially but then iPadOS26 remembers the size and location. So from then on going to split view is quicker. If you want to add a 3rd or 4th app you can and all it takes is just opening the apps and they return to their previous size and location. And this is in Windowed Mode. Add in Stage Manager and you can have it so you have different stages with split screen (or whatever number of apps you want) which is what I do. Plus let's add the fact that in iPadO18 in Stage Manager the windowed apps don't fully utilize the full screen. So you couldn't have a Safari taking up full half of a screen and a messaging window and video playing.

iPadOS26 is Significantly more flexible and useable than iPadOS18.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Granted, it takes an extra step or two compared to iPadOS18

That's the downgrade 👆

 

[DaSal]

There’s no easy way to check something real quick while in tablet/touch mode when you’re watching a video. Something that I used to do ALL the time.

Previously:
When watching YouTube or Netflix or whatever … have an incoming e-mail or message? Or want to check something on safari real quick? Pop up a SlideOver window and check it real quick. Then just swipe it way when done.

Now:
Open a new window that will block the video. Spend time moving it out of the way, and resizing it to an appropriate size. When you’re done you can’t just easily swipe it away and then swipe it back again on demand, you have to keep opening and closing it using the stoplight buttons. Which is annoying in touch, because it requires two taps (on trackpad it expands on hover, but not on touch).

Basically doing the same thing is more cumbersome and takes more taps than it did before. The fact that iPad OS 26 has stoplight controls which are trackpad-first-design - on a TABLET is actually an unhinged design decision.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The fact that iPad OS 26 has stoplight controls which are trackpad-first-design - on a TABLET is actually an unhinged design decision.

100% agree with this.

Those have no business being there unless one has a pointing device connected.

 

[achappy]

That's the downgrade 👆

So you take that single thing and completely ignore all the other improvements.

1 - 1 + 4 is still a positive number. I'll take that one step back to gain all of the other improvements and more flexibility.

 

[turbineseaplane]

So you take that single thing and completely ignore all the other improvements.

1 - 1 + 4 is still a positive number. I'll take that one step back to gain all of the other improvements and more flexibility.

For how I use iPads, and especially on an iPad Mini - absolutely!

Full blown windowing and affordances for trackpads are not only of no use to me, they are a UI regression and downgrade... and don't forget, they've removed the one part of multi-tasking I use ALL the time (SlideOver).

iPad Minis in particular almost need a "classic iPadOS" or something.

 

[DaSal]

I just don’t understand why they threw out all the tablet-centric design decisions they’ve been building on for a decade. There was a very good reason they didn’t make iPad like a MacBook from the start. They’ve always made choices that make sense on a tablet, built around a touch interface first and a trackpad second.

Now the iPad is actually being designed around trackpad usage. Which is just… disappointing.

The loss of Split View and SlideOver will be especially jarring on smaller iPads, where screen real-estate is at a premium, and which will mostly be used as a tablet - not with a keyboard and trackpad. It’s like this whole OS is now built solely around the 13” iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard combo.

I don’t want to be too jaded, but I think I can have a guess why. Those Magic Keyboards are expensive as they bring the iPad Pro into a MacBook Air price-range. It wouldn’t surprise me if they’re purposefully steering people into this combo by designing specifically for it and letting the experience suffer for everyone that doesn’t have a Magic Keyboard or that frequently multitasks when undocked.

 

[01cowherd]

Open a new window that will block the video

Or it pops the video out to PiP since the window is obstructed, then you have to pop it back in addition to resizing your windows.

The fact that iPad OS 26 has stoplight controls which are trackpad-first-design - on a TABLET is actually an unhinged design decision.

And the red x actually quits the app, which is shocking considering that Apple recommends only quitting apps if they’re unresponsive.

 

[TigerMSTR]

It isn’t another option. It’s a window management feature that isn’t working correctly and you’re presenting a workaround. It would only be another option if the primary trackpad-and-keyboard based option also worked. For it to be ‘another’ option, the first option would have to work. But it doesn’t. So it’s a workaround.

Yes, I mean SlideOver. I’m sorry you didn’t like it - but it objectively has more functionality than the current multitasking setup, so I don’t see how you can claim it’s limited.

The previous iPad OS had more flexibility in multitasking than iPadOS28. This one just has a ‘sheen’ of added flexibility, where in reality it has less.

As an artist drawing in fullscreen, and using Slide Over to reference whatever they’re drawing, how the heck are they supposed to get their work done in iPadOS 26? This update has completely obliterated their work flow. It’s as if Apple has forgotten who they’ve made and marketed iPads towards.

 

[TigerMSTR]

I can’t even begin to imagine how frustrating the removal will be for all the people that use iPads for a mobile productivity workflow like nurses, doctors, architects - that sort of thing.

People who do actual, meaningful work in the real world, rather than just cosplaying as it on YouTube.

 

[turbineseaplane]

People who do actual, meaningful work in the real world, rather than just cosplaying as it on YouTube.

or writing endless blog posts about the convoluted way they've "recreated a Mac workflow on their iPad"..

Why?

Just use a Mac.

 

[martint235]

I quite like it. Nothing has changed about how I use the iPad and it feels smoother but that is just perception. Obviously your perception may vary.

 

[tomtad]

he fact that iPad OS 26 has stoplight controls which are trackpad-first-design

Why are they a trackpad first design? You tap the window controls and they enlarge to be pressed by a finger.

 

[DaSal]

As an artist drawing in fullscreen, and using Slide Over to reference whatever they’re drawing, how the heck are they supposed to get their work done in iPadOS 26? This update has completely obliterated their work flow. It’s as if Apple has forgotten who they’ve made and marketed iPads towards.

That’s a great example. The new multitasking mode cannot reproduce this workflow as effectively. Not without being far more cumbersome and requiring a lot more taps. While also just being generally annoying to do, which is disappointing because the original workflow was probably actually pleasing.

I’m leaving the beta on my iPad for now so that I can send as many bug reports and suggestions as possible in the hopes that at least I can contribute to some rough edges being smoothed out. However if Apple doesn’t add Split View and slideover back in I know a lot of people will be angry when the public final release rolls out.

I just don’t understand why they had to remove those features. Even conceptually, one multitasking UI for tablet mode and a separate multitasking UI for docked touchpad/keyboard mode makes perfect sense.

 

[TigerMSTR]

I would like to ask everyone that misses SlideOver to request for it using the feedback tool. The more they hear from us the more likely it is they’ll bring it back. (But they won’t).

It’s absolutely frustrating that Apple is making the iPad experience worse for 90% of users to cave to the demands of some tech influencers who don’t even use the iPad as their primary device and who never will.

The previous touch-based Split View and slider over were absolutely essential for efficient handheld multitasking.

I can’t even begin to imagine how frustrating the removal will be for all the people that use iPads for a mobile productivity workflow like nurses, doctors, architects - that sort of thing.

People who do actual, meaningful work in the real world, rather than just cosplaying as it on YouTube.

or writing endless blog posts about the convoluted way they've "recreated a Mac workflow on their iPad"..

Why?

Just use a Mac.

There’s an entire genre of tech reviewers whose iPad reviews almost entirely consist of them complaining that it’s not a Mac. It’s like buying a Prius and then posting a video complaining about how it’s not an F-150. It never made any sense to me.

And their reviews are almost always from the narrow perspective of someone doing video editing, because these YouTubers are completely unable to conceive that there are people out there doing real work beyond video editing.

I just hate how such a tiny segment of users with an incredibly niche use case have been able to drive the narrative about the iPad.

 

[Bungaree.Chubbins]

I love the whole 'telling people that what they like is stupid and dumb' vibe we've got going here. I'm getting whiplash reading about iPadOS 26. I come from a thread where people running the beta are really enjoying the new systems, many of whom use their iPads professionally. Then I read a thread where iPadOS 26 is THE WORST IPAD OPERATING SYSTEM IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD!!!

I don't have a horse in this fight. My iPad Air 2 is stuck on iPadOS 15, and I don't use any multitasking features because the iPadOS 15 version of Slide Over and Split Screen is entirely useless.

I think Apple is in a no-win situation. Every possible move will be heralded by a chorus of naysayers on the internet trying to tell everyone else that Apple is stupid and dumb, and that we're stupid and dumb for liking Apple products.

It must be frustrating to lose a preferred feature, but that doesn't make people who don't like that feature and don't miss it shills.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I think Apple is in a no-win situation.

All they had to do is keep the option for the older "classic" multitasking for those that prefer it.

It's a real issue for iPad Minis.

Windowing is not a good solution on a screen that small.

 

[Bungaree.Chubbins]

All they had to do is keep the option for the older "classic" multitasking for those that prefer it.

That's a fair point. It just caught me by surprise because I have never used those features except by accident, or when checking them out when someone reminded me they existed, and didn't really consider the fact someone might actually like them.

It's a real issue for iPad Minis.

Windowing is not a good solution on a screen that small.

Also a fair point. I really want to love the iPad mini, they're such nice devices. My problem was always that it was too small, and my iPhone always made it redundant, and I went back to the regular size as quickly as I could. So I can't imagine trying to use windowing on a screen that small.

Actually I just need to remember. Back in the days of GEM and Windows 2. Some of those screens were TINY!

 

[DaSal]

I love the whole 'telling people that what they like is stupid and dumb' vibe we've got going here. I'm getting whiplash reading about iPadOS 26. I come from a thread where people running the beta are really enjoying the new systems, many of whom use their iPads professionally. Then I read a thread where iPadOS 26 is THE WORST IPAD OPERATING SYSTEM IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD!!!

I don't have a horse in this fight. My iPad Air 2 is stuck on iPadOS 15, and I don't use any multitasking features because the iPadOS 15 version of Slide Over and Split Screen is entirely useless.

I think Apple is in a no-win situation. Every possible move will be heralded by a chorus of naysayers on the internet trying to tell everyone else that Apple is stupid and dumb, and that we're stupid and dumb for liking Apple products.

It must be frustrating to lose a preferred feature, but that doesn't make people who don't like that feature and don't miss it shills.

That’s most likely because those are people that have been trying to recreate a Mac-like workflow this whole time. For them the new multitasking is better, yes. But they don’t consider that many people actually preferred smoothness and fluidity of the old multitasking, even if it was slightly less flexible.

I don’t really understand all the hype anyway, because the new multitasking doesn’t meaningfully do anything different from the previous stage manager. Stage Manager used To automatically resize windows and move windows to help the user and avoid having to waste time resizing and moving Windows all day long. It was actually a great feature that they removed, because again, people that want it to be a Mac complained.

But objectively; the new multitasking isn’t more flexible than the old stage manager - you can do exactly the same things and hold exactly as many windows as before - except now you have to resize and move them manually whereas before it was partially automated and assisted, while still allowing user flexibility if you wanted a different layout.

Stage manager used to just prevent making the window so small that it’s unstable. The new multitasking lets you make a window so small that no content renders and it just shows some buttons and then the stoplight buttons overlayed on it. Wow, so great and revolutionary. You now have the flexibility to make an app a useless size. It’s completely pointless and for regular people that want to use multitasking it’ll be confusing too. That stage manager used to prevent useless sizes that just caused a mess of smushed up overlayed buttons was a GOOD thing for most users. What’s the point of an app that can’t actually display any content? That’s just a smudge on the screen.

It just doesn’t make sense. All these iPad features were designed from the ground up with modern sensibilities and everything we’ve learned about window management for decades and without legacy expectationsfragging it down. Now it’s just been stripped down to being exactly like the Mac. Except it doesn’t work as well as on the Mac, because of bugs, inconsistencies in it’s behaviour, limited screen real-estate and conflicts with touch-first gestures and buttons that are left over in the UI, and also in apps themselves. Buttons that might be unclickable because the new Stoplight controls block them. And that won’t get fixed either because app developers won’t redesign their apps to cater to the few percent of users that use their iPad in this way.

What really are improvements are:
- The more precise mouse pointer
- The ability for tasks to run in the background

That’s it.

Also don’t get me started about the new files/preview system which makes previewing and scrolling through multiple photos and documents impossible. Yes I know you can long press and quick look in Files - but what normal user is going to discover that? How is it better than just a single tap on a document, like it used to be? Preview doesn’t let you scroll through multiple documents either, it just does one at a time.

And the behaviour when you delete Preview is even worse. Files then just chooses a random app to open the file you tap. For instance, when I now tap a photo in files it tris to open it in Infuse, a video player. Why would it *ever* do this? Who would want this? Especially without asking? Just open it in quick look! Like it always did! It’s just so frustrating.

 

[Nikhil72]

I can’t even begin to imagine how frustrating the removal will be for all the people that use iPads for a mobile productivity workflow like nurses, doctors, architects - that sort of thing.

Healthcare worker here! The new workflow works...better for me and for my patient-centric role? I can have my EMR, patient texting platform, OpenEvidence for medical AI, ChatGPT for prior authorization letters, my work Outlook, and my PDF reader/Preview for medical journal articles open, all on my iPP 13. And this all works miles better than a mac for my work needs.

 

[DaSal]

Healthcare worker here! The new workflow works...better for me and for my patient-centric role? I can have my EMR, patient texting platform, OpenEvidence for medical AI, ChatGPT for prior authorization letters, my work Outlook, and my PDF reader/Preview for medical journal articles open, all on my iPP 13. And this all works miles better than a mac for my work needs.

I’m honestly glad to hear it works for you! But can I ask how specifically the new setup works better than the old Stage Manager feature? And are you coming from using Stage Manager to the new multitasking, or did you previously use full-screen apps with split-view and SlideOver?

I’m asking because from my perspective the old Stage Manager did everything this new setup does, and more, because it also managed window placement and sizing automatically to ensure usable windows and allowed for switching between multiple spaces of apps. Whereas the new multitasking requires manual management of window placement and actually allows you to make windows that are unusably small.

From my perspective the previous Stage Manager was equivalent from a productivity standpoint but better from a speed and efficiency standpoint.

If you’ve used Stage Manager in the past I’d love to hear your experience and opinion on why the new multitasking is better.

 

[Ludatyk]

Why are they a trackpad first design? You tap the window controls and they enlarge to be pressed by a finger.

Exactly! Responses like this get glossed over... because it doesn't feed into the whole negativity surrounding iPadOS 26.

And I'm aware it's disappointing seeing a signature feature get removed from a platform... when it was introduced back a decade ago in iOS 9. So, the frustration of it being removed... is warranted. I am fully on board with that, understanding how easy it is to get into SplitView. SlideOver is a nice feature... off to the side, able to interact with it and swipe away whenever necessary.

I've probably been an iPad user longer than anyone in this thread (not to make it seem as if I hold more merit or anything), that is to say I care deeply about the iPad just as much as anyone. But Stage Manager was released back in '22 with a whole bunch of negativity.

Took them 3 years to get to the point where people like Federico actually likes it... didn't care for Stage Manager originally, stayed using SplitView/SlideOver. And maybe Apple finds away to bring a system similar to SplitView/SlideOver... that way it would benefit all of us.

 

[tomtad]

Whereas the new multitasking requires manual management of window placement and actually allows you to make windows that are unusably small.

This is untrue. You press the traffic lights and you get autolayouts. The previous Stage Manager mode had none of this.